Arvest Bank Trust Division Makes New $20.67 Million Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 68,390 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $20,667,000. General Dynamics accounts for about 1.2% of Arvest Bank Trust Division's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $108,572,000 after buying an additional 357,861 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded down $2.39 on Thursday, hitting $263.04. 2,397,220 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,592. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $293.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.38.

General Dynamics Profile

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.